domenica 17 maggio 2015

SOMEBODY IN NAHA, TODAY, SAID NO

NO to the new American base in Henoko. NO to Abe. NO
to nuclear power. NO to weapons. These the refrains of today’s massive
gathering at the baseball stadium of Onoyama Park, few steps from home. When I
first arrived I thought that it would have been impossible to fill it up, so
huge… A couple of hours later I couldn’t believe it, I was struggling not to be
squeezed on the loggione, where I
found my safe place to photograph. Thousands and thousands of people, never
seen so many in one single place in Okinawa (not even at the Beer Festival of
Okinawa City…). I’ve been in Okinawa for four years and now I have the strong
feeling that the protest against the military American presence in the
archipelago is growing everyday. Tokyo’s governement, besides, doesn’t help
much to calm down the situation.

The celebration of the 43rd year (purely
symbolic) of the ‘return’ of Okinawa to Japan by the U.S. and of the 70th
year since the Battle of Okinawa today had a beautiful program where the
speeches of the ‘big guys’ of the opposition to the bases and to Abe – starting
with Okinawa’s Governor, Takeshi Onaga – followed some nice musical
performance. An optimistic young woman sung one of the most beautiful songs of
Okinawa wearing an ‘ABE IS OVER!’ t-shirt… Buddhist and Christian priests were
present. A monk told me that had just come back from a 40-days peace march
between San Francisco and New York City, where discovered many nice Americans
that don’t like weapons. I also met Charles Douglas Lummis, an American
pacifist, writer, former professor at Tsuda College (Tokyo) and former U.S.
Marine. I just saw him few days ago in the interesting documentary (Japan’s Peace Constitution, 2005) about
the article 9 of the Japanese Constitution that Abe is trying to change in
order to militarize Japan.

Here are my images of today.

THE NOT-SO-SUBTLE ART OF PROVOKING

(Or: a little nazi-collection)

Today, as I almost couldn’t move from my position, I
had the chance (ARIGATO Nikon! ARIGATO zoom!) to photograph on two sides of the
stadium. Inside: the happines. Outside: some sad show of human idiocy. Today
policemen REALLY earnt their sweated salary. Today was the glory-day of
‘seaweed-arbaito’, a not-so-gentleman that everyday after the office rides his
I-love-U.S.-army car in the streets near home yelling a bunch of nonsense at
the loudspeakers. Today he could be finally reached along the hard road of The
Mission (keep Communism, China, Onaga, everibody smelling anti-Rambo out of his
world) by his best buddies: a dozen of I-wanted-to-be-Mishima-but-my-daddy-just-called-me-Kinjo/Higa
guys. In other words: ultra-nationalists, came to the celebration uniquely to
provoke & fight. Their tanks: some vans ans some cars with Japan’s flags,
including the ones of the kamikaze era. Driving non-stop by the sidewalk where
the pacifists were standing. Vomiting disturbed messages at the loudspeakers.
Pointing some middle finger here and there, ready to jump and attack anyone
that would reply to the finger. The whole show went on for over four hours, I
felt bad for the cops that had to block them over and over…

Today I had at
least two lessons about this wonderful Country. The funny voices of the Yakuza guys,
half drunk, that I heard in many movies, really exist. Today’s little-mishimas
spoke like them, with the same mucus-voice. Second lesson: in my Country,
generally speaking, police arrests you, at least momentarly, if you go around
provoking fights. Here police blocks you and… puts you back into your car. As a
cat that left its apartment without asking permission to the owners. So you can
restart your car and play the same show. Japan, おもしろい!!!